The NAEP Technology & Engineering Literacy Achievement Levels

NAEP Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) achievement-level descriptions are reported in terms of percentages of students who attain each of the three achievement levels:
Basic,
Proficient, and
Advanced. The specific descriptions of what students at grade 8 should know and be able to do at the
Basic, Proficient, and
Advanced TEL achievement levels are presented below. NAEP achievement levels are cumulative; therefore, student performance at the
Proficient level includes the competencies associated with the
Basic level, and the
Advanced level also includes the skills and knowledge associated with both the
Basic and the
Proficient levels. The cut score indicating the lower end of the score range for each level is noted in parentheses.

Eighth-grade students performing at the
Basic level should be able to use common tools and media to achieve specified goals and identify major impacts. They should demonstrate an understanding that humans can develop solutions by creating and using technologies. They should be able to identify major positive and negative effects that technology can have on the natural and designed world. Students should be able to use systematic engineering design processes to solve a simple problem that responsibly addresses a human need or want. Students should distinguish components in selected technological systems and recognize that technologies require maintenance. They should select common information and communications technology tools and media for specified purposes, tasks, and audiences. Students should be able to find and evaluate sources, organize and display data and other information to address simple research tasks, give appropriate acknowledgment for use of the work of others, and use feedback from team members (assessed virtually).

Proficient(158)

Eighth-grade students performing at the
Proficient level should be able to understand the interactions among parts within systems, systematically develop solutions, and contribute to teams (assessed virtually) using common and specialized tools to achieve goals. They should be able to explain how technology and society influence each other by comparing the benefits and limitations of the technologies’ impacts. Students should be able to analyze the interactions among components in technological systems and consider how the behavior of a single part affects the whole. They should be able to diagnose the cause of a simple technological problem. They should be able to use a variety of technologies and work with others using systematic engineering design processes in which they iteratively plan, analyze, generate, and communicate solutions. Students should be able to select and use an appropriate range of tools and media for a variety of purposes, tasks, and audiences. They should be able to contribute to work of team collaborators (assessed virtually) and provide constructive feedback. Students should be able to find, evaluate, organize, and display data and information to answer research questions, solve problems, and achieve goals, appropriately citing use of the ideas, words, and images of others.

Advanced(209)

Eighth-grade students performing at the
Advanced level should be able to draw upon multiple tools and media to address complex problems and goals and demonstrate their understanding of the potential impacts on society. They should be able to explain the complex relationships between technologies and society and the potential implications of technological decisions on society and the natural world. Given criteria and constraints, students should be able to use systematic engineering design processes to plan, design, and use evidence to evaluate and refine multiple possible solutions to a need or problem and justify their solutions. Students should be able to explain the relationships among components in technological systems, anticipate maintenance issues, identify root causes, and repair faults. They should be able to use a variety of common and specialized information technologies to achieve goals, and to produce and communicate solutions to complex problems. Students should be able to integrate the use of multiple tools and media, evaluate and use data and information, communicate with a range of audiences, and accomplish complex tasks. They should be able to use and explain the ethical and appropriate methods for citing use of multimedia sources and the ideas and work of others. Students should be able to contribute to collaborative tasks on a team (assessed virtually) and organize, monitor, and refine team processes.